Survey reveals F&B decline in regional hotels
Profit per available room in the food and beverage department has dropped by 19.6% in regional UK hotels due to declining revenues and increasing costs, according to a new study by hospitality intelligence firm HotStats.
The study, Benchmarking Beyond Revpar, which polled hotels with a combined total of nearly 45,000 bedrooms over a 15-year period, revealed that the food and beverage department now accounts for 34.3% of total revenue in the regions and 22% in London. Food and beverage revenue per available room (revpar) at regional UK hotels was £31.65 in 2015.
For regional hoteliers, the growing cost of labour in the food and beverage department has been a key challenge, with an 11.8% increase in payroll recorded over the past 15 years on a per available room basis. In contrast, there has been a 7% decline in revenue.
While hotels in London have seen a similar pay increase (11.7%), it has also seen a 6.2% increase in food and beverage revenue. However, with food and beverage revpar recorded at £24.85 last year, it was still equivalent to just 22% of total revenue.
Pablo Alonso, Hotstats CEO said: "The growth in food and beverage revenue over the past 15 years has been well behind the growth in rooms revenue. While the current regional picture is slightly more bleak, as it appears the food and beverage department has been somewhat neglected in recent years, refocusing resources on this key department presents a strong opportunity to increase its contribution to overall revenue and profitability."
Revpar growth fails to deliver profit at UK hotels >>
Hotel profit growth stunted by payroll costs >>
London and regional UK revenue gap doubles >>
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